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Bernie Moreno, Ohio’s GOP candidate for the U.S. Senate, unleashed a bigoted diatribe attacking many of his own constituents during his latest appearance on Newsmax. Moreno, who’s locked in what’s expected to be a close race against the Democratic incumbent, Sherrod Brown, appears to be more than a little anxious as Election Day nears — and resorting to underhanded tactics as a result.
In the interview, Moreno claimed that the so-called Haitian immigrant crisis in Springfield, Ohio — which Republicans have repeatedly lied about — is “100% real.”
This despite the fact that JD Vance, the GOP vice presidential nominee and Ohio senator, essentially admitted that the racist claims he helped spread about Haitian immigrants eating pets weren’t true when he said he’s willing to make up stories for media attention; the fact that both Springfield’s Republican mayor and Ohio’s Republican governor have debunked these claims; and the fact that the governor, Mike DeWine, has praised Haitian immigrants for boosting Springfield’s economy. (You can read more about how Haitians have helped fuel Springfield’s economic growth here.)
Moreno’s rant went on to blame immigrants for Springfield’s woes:
They’re absolutely overwhelming the schools, the hospitals. ... The educational system is a mess there. The grocery stores are overwhelmed because we’re putting all these Haitians on food stamps — welfare programs. They’ve seen the cost of housing go up, the cost of insurance go up.
Moreno, as you might imagine, provided no proof for these claims. NBC News published an article citing economists who threw cold water on the housing claim, in particular. But all of this might sound harrowing to someone easily whipped into outrage at the thought of Black people moving to the U.S. from other countries.
But what else are we to expect from someone looking to join the ranks of the GOP’s outrage peddlers in the Senate?
Moreno’s tales give the impression that Haitian immigrants in Springfield — many of whom are in the U.S. legally — have sent the town into squalor, rather than spurred its resurgence. But what else are we to expect from someone looking to join the ranks of the GOP’s outrage peddlers in the Senate?
With less than three weeks until Election Day, Republicans are ramping up the racist rhetoric targeting immigrants. And in their respective races, Moreno and Vance are proving that these Republicans have no qualms throwing some of their own constituents under the bus.